Pope Francis Speaks On Rising Spate Of Kidnapping In Nigeria

Pope Francis has expressed grave worry about the rising wave of kidnappings in Nigeria.

Naija News reports that the 87-year-old leader of the Catholic Church showed support for the people of Nigeria in the wake of the alarming increase in kidnappings.

Expressing his concerns in a post on his official X account on Sunday, the Pope said the frequent kidnappings in Nigeria were “extremely concerning.”

“The increasingly frequent kidnappings in Nigeria are extremely concerning. I express my closeness in prayer to the Nigerian people, hoping that efforts will be made to contain the spread of these incidents as much as possible,” he wrote.

His remarks coincide with an increase in kidnappings and bandit attacks nationwide.

Since the start of 2024, there have been at least 15 kidnappings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The victims were kidnapped in two major incidents that occurred in the first week of the new year, thus depicting rising cases of abduction in the nation’s capital.

Barely six days into the new year, seven persons, all members of the same family, were abducted by gunmen around Zuma 1 in the Bwari Area Council of the territory.

During the incident, one person, simply identified as Alhaji, was shot dead while two policemen sustained injuries during a gun battle with the kidnappers.

There have also been reports of kidnapping in other states across the country, with Nigerians repeatedly calling on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to put an end to the rising tide of kidnapping. However, as part of its efforts to combat the troubling threat of kidnapping, the federal government has approved the establishment of state police forces.